Another Thing Americans Now Do on Dates: Bank

About a third of consumers are more often using digital banking, such as mobile apps or a bank’s website, this year compared to last year, according to a survey of 1,502 U.S. adults conducted by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in conjunction with research firm Braun Research. Of those, 54% banked digitally while at work and 17% said they banked while on a date.

Specifically, 33% of consumers surveyed, or 496, are using a mobile app for banking more often and 35% of consumers, or 526, are banking online more compared to last year, according to the survey.

The survey underscores that rapid pace at which banking customers are turning to their phones or computers to do basic banking transactions. “When people use our digital technology, they’re much more likely to use us as their primary bank,” said Barry Sommers, CEO of Chase Consumer Banking, adding that deposits at the bank grow faster and attrition is about 15% lower.

Though 90% of Chase customers visit branches, they’re going for advice while using the ATM and mobile apps for routine transactions they no longer need a teller for, he said.

For instance, Mr. Sommers said May 2015 was the first month Chase saw more deposits at ATMs than with tellers.

Some groups have adopted digital banking more quickly than others.

Hispanic consumers are banking digitally more often, with 45%, or 676 of those surveyed, using banking apps more often and 48%, or 721 people, using a bank’s website more compared to a year ago, according to the Chase survey. The large majority of Hispanics surveyed — 86% — said they were open to learning about and using new features on their bank’s website or online portal versus 77% of the general population.

In fact, 13% of Latinos are smartphone-dependent, which means they rely on smartphones for online access and are less likely to own another computing device, compared to 4% of whites, according to an April 2015 survey of smartphone usage by Pew Research Center.

Chase last week launched a new website in Spanish that focuses on its digital offerings. It launched its mobile app in Spanish in April 2014 and Chase.com in October 2012.

The Chase survey found Hispanics tend to gravitate to a banking app when viewing their account balance or transactions (37% compared to 23% of the total population) and making money transfers from one account to another (25% versus 16% of the general population).

They’re also using banking apps on the go more than the total population, with 64% using it while at work compared to 54% of the total group surveyed; 49% using it in a check-out line at a store topping the 38% of the total; and 47% at a restaurant, higher than 39% of the total.